Tanuki
by Zetran
Summary: Starving in the middle of a famine, Cloud searches for food, nearly failing until he sees an opportunity. Unfortunately, that opportunity seems to be more trouble than it's worth, but he can't shake the feeling that there's something more...
1. Chapter 1

The scent of cooking rabbit permeated the air, creeping into the nostrils of a fox. It opened its mouth to 'taste' the air as its stomach rolled and rumbled with hunger.

An ear twitched to flick off snow and a set of four legs moved nearly of their own accord. The fox stopped, right foreleg still in the air, and regained thought. Asking to be fed would not work in the small village of Rocket Town during Famine, when the inhabitants could barely take care of their own.

Circling the outskirts of the village for snares, the fox trudged towards home, disappointed by the lack of success. Stooping to lowly robbing snares for what can really only qualify as a snack did not sit well with it, though it pushed its sentiments aside long ago.

Anything for a meal. Anything for survival.

The fox weaved through the forest, squeezed into its tiny temporary den, prepared its spot for bed, and curled up into a cold, uncomfortable sleep with a demanding stomach.

* * *

Light crunching noises brought the fox out of its light slumber, and its ears pricked up. Slowly stepping forward, it froze in place.

A Two-Leg, whether a human or a Median, the fox didn't know. Not caring or bothering to size up the Two-Leg, it fixated its eyes on what was carried.

A whole Valron. The purple gargoyle-like creature wasn't something the fox would normally eat, but at this point, it really didn't matter.

Crawling out of the den, the fox took aim, and, without paying heed to the weapon the Two-Leg held, leaped forward.

Managing to catch the kill between its teeth, the fox took off full speed as far away as possible, dragging the dead Valron with it. The Two-Leg dropped his guard only to realize what was happening a split second later.

Zigzagging around the trees, the fox's fatigue grew at an alarming rate. It contemplated using its illusory magic to pass off as a raccoon dog, but it was too late. The Two-Leg knew what to chase after and was quickly closing the distance.

The fox jumped upwards to avoid the blade intending to cut all of its legs off at once. Instead of running, it stood its ground. It refused to flee without the Valron; death was imminent without a source of food.

The Two-Leg stepped forward, holding its weapon in a threatening manner. The fox released the stolen kill, pulled its ears back, and snarled, showing off all of its small but sharp teeth. It was either going to have food, or die trying.

Anything for a meal. Anything for survival.

Instead of the sword cutting into it, the Two-Leg reached towards the Valron with his right hand. The fox dug its knife-like teeth into the arm, ripping and tearing in a wild frenzy to punish the action for being the big mistake that it was.

With the other arm, the Two-Leg plunged the weapon into the ground and forcefully jabbed a thumb into the fox's eye. The fox held on despite the pain, until it could no longer take it. Upon the fox's release of the bloodied limb, the Two-Leg used the injured arm to shove the fox's head to the ground and stepped on it, pinning it in place, while using the other arm to roughly pull the tail.

It was a common rumor among humans and Medians that pulling a fox's tail would bring extremely bad luck. Sometimes brushed off as a superstition or a coincidence, it was widely believed that the idea rang true. So many reports of bad things happening afterwards couldn't be denied in having some connection. Apparently, the Two-Leg didn't believe in such a thing. Or he simply didn't care. Whatever the case, the fox snarled and thrashed, swearing curses upon the man – up until now, the fox paid little attention to even the simplest of its adversary's appearance – that was slowly but surely crushing its skull.

An eternity later, a shot of pain burst from the fox's side and knocked all the air out of it. Through blurry vision, it saw a green glow and the slightly distorted figure of the man turning to leave with the sword and the Valron.

Shakily getting to its feet, the fox practically crawled forward, lengthening the distance between itself and the man by a few feet before using its illusion magic to take on the appearance of a raccoon dog. It picked up the pace, hiding behind trees and using precious energy to sprint.

The man stopped at a shelter built low to the ground and dropped the kill next to a blackened circle. The disguised fox watched as he placed wood and lit a match to start a fire. Hunger once again clouding its mind, it crept forward and leaped at the food.

The false raccoon dog didn't even make it this time. It found itself in a similar struggle situation, but this time it was held upside down by its hind legs.

"What are you?" the man asked softly, shaking the imitation tanuki and causing it to revert back to its true form. "You can't be a normal fox."

No movement or sound whatsoever came from the fox. It knew what the man was implying, and it weighed the pros and cons. There was absolutely nothing to lose from this; in fact, the fox might actually gain a meal.

The fox cringed in pain as its muscles and bones expanded, growing bigger and wider. Its snout retracted, its teeth shortened and crowded closer together as its entire head changed shape, its legs grew longer, its heels shortened, its toes elongated, and the transformation was complete.

The man put down a male blond-haired human with fox ears and a tail. The humanoid shivered in the snow, a pale, dangerously thin body shaking pitifully. He sat up, thumping his tail.

"Happy now?" the Median said hoarsely, voice unused to human-speak. He swept some snow to the side with his tail, ignoring the pounding in his head from the earlier attack and the aches strewn all over his body from the change. The cold striking his nude body didn't help with the discomfort.

The man didn't answer, instead asking, "Do you have a name?" He lit the fire and pulled out a knife to cut up the Valron.

Hesitant, the Median eventually answered, "Cloud." He eyed the silver-haired man with caution.

A chunk of raw meat was tossed his way. Half of it was eaten before Cloud even knew what he was doing.

"You need an appetizer more than I do," the man explained.

"What was that for...?" Cloud trailed off, not knowing what to refer to the man as. He licked some juice and blood off of his lips and winced as his stomach growled in content and in demand of more food.

"Sephiroth. And I do believe that you owe me for the bite."

* * *

Notes:

Idea conceived: 2013年8月9日（金）

Started: 2013年8月9日（金）

Finished: 2013年8月20日（火）

I'm starting to hate myself for this.


	2. Chapter 2

"You pulled my tail and nearly broke my head," Cloud replied, annoyed. "I owe you nothing."

"Hm," was all Sephiroth said.

"If anything, _you_ owe _me_," Cloud continued.

"I don't owe you anything." Sephiroth placed a pot of snow over the fire.

Cloud inched closer to the Valron, trying to make his actions as least suspicious as possible. "You could have killed me."

"You could have left me with only one arm." Sephiroth continued to melt the snow, oblivious.

Cloud huffed angrily. "At least you still would have been alive." _Almost there..._

"At least your corpse still would have had both arms," Sephiroth argued back lamely. He continued to stare at the partially melted snow as if willing it to turn to water faster.

_Is he joking?_ Cloud silently crept closer, keeping his eyes on the Two-Leg. The right moment presented itself, and Cloud pounced.

Sephiroth chuckled, running after and grabbing the fleeing Median by the leg and pinning him down, laying over the caught fox. Cloud snarled, pulling his ears back and baring his teeth while struggling to worm his way out of the silver-haired man on top of him.

"You can leave anytime you want," Sephiroth said calmly. "Just don't take my food with you."

"Get off," Cloud ground out, fully displaying all of his teeth in an ugly growl. He growled louder when Sephiroth gripped both of his arms and squeezed them until Cloud let go of the stolen kill.

He'd had enough of warning the man. Cloud bit Sephiroth on the arm again, digging his teeth in as far as they could go before pulling back to tear and rip the flesh.

Something slapped him hard enough to put him in a small daze. Cloud let go, and he was left there in the snow. He shook it off and put a handful of the white powder to numb his stinging cheek, going back to Sephiroth's campsite.

He needed that Valron. It was either that, or starvation.

"I don't appreciate thieves stealing from me," was all Sephiroth said when Cloud returned. The man tended to the fire and put a chunk of meat into the pot of water.

At the sight of the meat, Cloud's stomach growled. Loudly. Embarrassed, he sat crossed-legged, wrapping his arms around his crying belly. His tail lay still and his ears swiveled at every small sound they caught, especially the ones coming from the cooking food. He moved his hands to his upper arms, rubbing them as he shivered.

When the water began to bubble for a while, the scent of stew sprung into the air and spread over the entire area, tempting Cloud to knock over the pot and gobble up the meat whether Sephiroth was there or not. To distract himself, Cloud said, "That's going to attract monsters, you know."

"I am aware."

"Shouldn't you do something about the smell?"

"What does that matter to you?"

"I don't want to risk a fight with a gang of beasts just because you're being stupid."

"You won't have to. I can roast you over an open fire, too," Sephiroth said nonchalantly. "No more fighting for you, no more annoying fox for me. Problem solved."

Insulted, Cloud felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end a little. He contemplated throwing caution to the wind and lunging at Sephiroth's throat, but the rational side of him refused to let him do so. That man wasn't as casual and uncaring as Cloud thought. On the inside, that man was waiting for Cloud to make a move.

"Hmph," Sephiroth said in amusement. "Don't insult others when you can't take one yourself."

"Don't attack foxes and pull their tails if you know what's good for you," Cloud threatened. He prayed for karma to come in and give Sephiroth what he deserved.

"Last I checked, you attacked me first."

"You almost cracked my head into a million pieces, pulled my tail, kicked me into a tree, and slapped me," Cloud listed.

"Hmm..." Sephiroth poured some stew into a bowl and pulled out a utensil to eat it. "Let's see... I was walking through the forest, looking for something edible before finally finding something after hours of searching. As you can see, I killed it to bring it back over here. On my way back, I find that something snatched the food that I had worked for, so, naturally, I chased after whatever it was to get back what was rightfully mine. What do I find but an oddly-colored fox which is still trying to do what it can to go against me, even as we speak."

Cloud had no argument that wouldn't sound stupid. He allowed silence to come between them.

Sephiroth cut another chunk out of the Valron and threw it into the pot before going back to eating his stew, staring straight into Cloud's eyes and chewing loudly as if to mock him. Cloud didn't say a word against that. He'd show weakness if he did.

Weakness was eliminated while the strong flourished. It was like a law.

After a moment, another idea presented itself to Cloud.

"So what brings you here?"

"Nothing," Sephiroth mumbled, more interested in eating than in Cloud.

Unperturbed, Cloud said, "Really? Out of the entire time I've stayed here, I've never seen a human out in the forest unless it's to hunt." Despite his claim of what the silver-haired man was, Cloud had some doubt to that. Slit-pupils were the trademark eyes of reptile or cat Medians, though Cloud was leaning more towards cat mainly because he'd never met a single reptilian Median in his life. Nearly everything about the man screamed that he was part animal, Cloud was sure of it.

"I don't have a permanent home."

"So you're a wanderer?" Sephiroth looked at Cloud as if he was stupid. Cloud glared back. "Alright, so why do you move around a lot?"

"Because I choose to," Sephiroth said simply. He tipped the bowl into his mouth and drained the broth.

Cloud stared hungrily as Sephiroth poured himself another serving, and he found himself fighting to stop himself from licking his lips. He rubbed his hands over his feet and toes, numbness creeping into him from bottom to top.

"How long has the Famine lasted?"

"Hm?" Cloud was surprised to receive a question. "A long time, it feels like. I think the rabbits started to disappear a moon or so ago. It's gotten worse recently." He looked down at himself sadly. "I haven't eaten in three days..."

Sephiroth shifted his gaze back and forth between Cloud and the pot of stew. Excitedly, Cloud perked up, temporarily forgetting about the cold settling into his naked body.

"I can see why," Sephiroth said, returning to his meal. "You're quite possibly the only fox I've come across that doesn't see biting as rude."

Cloud's ears drooped and he hunched over, making himself appear smaller and therefore more pitiful. He sighed. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. I've never had to ask a human for help before."

"I've never had a Median as a companion before, much less one that's content with being a savage and biting the one that had invited it."

"What?" Cloud asked with disbelief.

Cold meat hit landed in his lap a moment later. It was gone seconds later, resting at the bottom of Cloud's belly.

"You'd better not mind raw meat. The luxury of warm food doesn't belong to you right now."

Cloud could care less. Food was food. He looked up hopefully at Sephiroth, thinking that he had the silver-haired man's favor.

"I'm not too sure about when the Famine will break, but there should be more food elsewhere."

"What does that have to do with me? You look capable of going off on your own."

"It's easier to hunt with two, isn't it?"

It was, but... No, he couldn't back away from this. He was being offered food and a chance to continue living. Cloud stood and sat next to the fire, warming his hands first.

"It is," Cloud agreed, waiting for the man to say more. "I don't trust you much, though."

"Nor I you," Sephiroth replied, cutting another portion and handing it to Cloud.

This time, Cloud took the time to savor the food he was given, eating a bit slower. Sephiroth busied himself with burying the rest of the meat under the snow to preserve it.

"I suggest keeping your guard up," Sephiroth said, looking into the distance. "If we're lucky, a monster or two may come."

_So that's what he's doing_, Cloud realized. The silver-haired man was trying to attract more food. That also meant that he was going to stay awake for a while. Determined to outlast Sephiroth, Cloud stayed by the fire to warm up and watched him, making sure he didn't try anything.

* * *

When the pink sky of dawn began to form in small pockets on the horizon, Sephiroth packed away all of his things, starting with the small tent and moving on to his other supplies. He dug up the meat and stuffed it into a bag that he would keep close to himself, estimating that the food would last another day, maybe two, depending on how much his new-found companion would eat. He wondered if he was going mad. A Median attacks and injures him for food and what does he do? Persuade the exact same Median to join him in his travels and help him with hunting.

This is ridiculous. What was he thinking? Even now, he didn't know. Ah well, the journey ahead would provide enough time for him to question himself.

Making sure that everything was sealed tightly and that everything was put away, Sephiroth tossed a blanket at the still-nude fox. In response to Cloud's inquiring look, he said, "You don't have any clothes, so that will have to make do until we get to the next town. Unless you'd like to come along as a fox?"

Cloud shook his head and accepted the blanket, swinging it onto his shoulders and reaching for the bag of food.

"Not that one," Sephiroth said hastily, handing Cloud the backpack with the tent and other supplies. "Take this one."

With a huff, Cloud reluctantly did. "So where are we going?" He followed when Sephiroth began walking southeast.

"We'll have to stop at Nibelheim before anyplace else."

Cloud stopped. "Can't we move on to somewhere else instead?"

Sephiroth continued walking, ignoring Cloud's hesitation. "Nibelheim is the closest town and we need supplies. You need clothes, I need some Ethers."

"I can survive just fine without clothes," Cloud protested quickly, walking as slow as possible while still being within earshot. "And you can just rest to replenish your magic."

Sephiroth snorted. "It's not that simple. I'm no magical being."

"Even humans can get their mana back without Ethers, can't they?"

"Yes. But it's a horribly slow process." He heard Cloud mutter about having to support somebody other than himself with magic. "What's in Nibelheim that scares you so?"

"I'm not scared," Cloud denied quickly. "There's nothing there."

Sephiroth just let the subject drop, and they continued on in awkward silence. The trees grew fewer in number before stopping altogether, and they were finally out of the forest. Sephiroth figured that they could cover a little more ground before stopping to rest and have breakfast. Once they did, Sephiroth rationed the food, allowing Cloud to have a bigger share. The Median's ribs were still sticking out prominently, despite the fox's attempts to conceal it.

To break the silence, Cloud said, "If only we had a chocobo..."

Sephiroth couldn't help but agree. His attention, however, was taken by the twitching of Cloud's ears.

"Why do you still have your ears and tail out? It would be much simpler for you to get by in Nibelheim if you retracted them until you only had human ears if that's what you're worried about. I see no reason to be there without them, though, because I have seen Medians living there."

Cloud flinched and his ears lay back, as if he were trying to hide them. "Did you see a woman with long, black hair? Red-brown eyes, pale skin..."

"I don't think so," Sephiroth said truthfully. "Is that who you're avoiding?"

"I keep my ears and tail as a preference," Cloud said without acknowledging Sephiroth's question. "I can hear better and from more directions that way and it's much easier for me to keep my balance. It's more comfortable for me, too."

"I see." Sephiroth picked up a handful of snow, checked to make sure it was completely white, and ate it.

More awkward silence. Cloud ate very slowly, trying to drag out their stay. Sephiroth merely finished his portion and stood up to continue the journey, turning around to drag Cloud along with him. He needed the backpack that the fox had volunteered to carry.

The day passed by relatively uneventfully. Luck shined down on Sephiroth, bringing him a lone Velcher Task which he took down easily. The poisonous dragon-like creature was cut up and prepared for more travel.

To Sephiroth's relief, Cloud seemed to know about the area around him well enough. However, he was still stalling for some reason, one that Sephiroth didn't really care to find out though he did wish the fox would cut it out already. Whatever drama he had with that town in a previous point in his life didn't change the fact that he still had to go there. The snow fall was light, but still cold, and Sephiroth could see Cloud shivering and unconsciously wrapping the blanket more tightly around himself. It would've been much easier on the Median if he simply walked in his fox skin, but the stubborn blond refused and continued to shoulder the pack Sephiroth had given him.

Very soon, it became too dark to go any further. Sephiroth quickly looked for what he needed to make a fire, finishing that before setting up the tent. Cloud sat next to the fire, no doubt numb and freezing. Sephiroth sat at the other end of the flames, warming up his hands before preparing the meat for cooking.

Dinner was another silent affair. Again Sephiroth gave Cloud a bigger portion, opting for simple cooked meat instead of stew. Cloud didn't seem to care, glad that he had _something_ to eat.

Sephiroth sat out by the put-out fire some time later. He could see Cloud's silhouette changing form and heard popping bones. He smirked in the darkness. It appeared that the fox had finally given up his macho act. He heard Cloud crunching around in the snow and some scratching before the fox finally lay down to rest.

Sephiroth slipped into his tent, which was built very low to the ground, and rested his eyes, eventually falling asleep.

* * *

Notes:

Started: 2013年9月15日（日）

Finished: 2013年9月19日（木）

An update! Yay!

In response to Um. Daphne: Cool, I didn't know about the dog-mentality or the cat-like bits. But I never said that Sephiroth was a fox. ;)


	3. Chapter 3

In his fox skin, Cloud tread lightly with dread, the pack on his back swaying with his movements. It slipped, hanging off of his side. Cloud let out a small growl in annoyance and shook his body to right his burden, trotting off before it slipped again. Instead of bothering to try to fix the problem, he continued to walk as slowly as possible, the pack of supplies continuously bouncing against his side. Sephiroth's figure grew more and more distant, and Cloud stopped, relieved, and turned to go back from where he came. Food be damned, he couldn't go back to Nibelheim.

He managed to cover a little ground before Sephiroth came to drag him. By his tail.

Cloud snarled and scratched at the snow-covered ground, trying to gain a purchase to escape the man's grasp. His paws and nails made long streaks in the frosty earth but did nothing otherwise. He turned to yell at Sephiroth to let him go, but his mouth in its current state was not made for human speech. His words came out as growls.

Temptation screamed at him to bite Sephiroth again, but the more rational side of him warned that it would not bring good consequences. Even so, he was nearly burning alive with the urge, and Sephiroth refused to relent. The silver-haired man yanked harder, dragging the fox faster behind him until they passed the point Sephiroth had been when Cloud had decided to turn tail and run.

"I do not appreciate your cowardly behavior," Sephiroth said coldly. He released Cloud's tail but didn't take his eyes off of the fox.

The Median opened his mouth to retort, but again, nothing more advanced than a series of growls came out.

"You do realize that that tells me nothing other than you're angry, right?"

Cloud snorted and willed himself to change only his head and face. The snout retracted until it was slightly like a human's mouth, but he still kept his fox nose.

"Why couldn't we just stop by Rocket Town?" he ground out. He hated changing; every transformation back and forth was painful. His mouth felt like it had been hit by a wide tree trunk.

"They hardly have the supplies to sustain themselves, much less anybody who'd like to make a trade or purchase," Sephiroth said as if Cloud should have known that already.

The fox willed his muscles and bones to revert to their original form, but made no other movement. He swept his tail across the snow, still ill-tempered.

He couldn't go back to Nibelheim. He just couldn't.

Sephiroth sighed. "What's over there that's so terrible?"

Cloud didn't answer and didn't really want to. The man would just laugh at him for it, or maybe just shake his head in exasperation. The latter sounded more likely to happen, based on what Cloud knew of Sephiroth. He looked up at the man, pulling his ears back against his head, trying to make himself look like a miserable kit.

"We're going no matter what you have to say on this."

Cloud dropped the act. He had no option but to follow Sephiroth. There was no telling how long Famine would last in Rocket Town, and there was no other way out of the area except through Nibelheim. He seriously considered taking his chances, but as he furthered the journey with the silver-haired man, he realized the severe lack of any predators and prey.

Reluctantly, he continued on with Sephiroth, still moving as slowly as possible.

* * *

It was another few days, nearly a week, until the trademark Nibel mountains came into view. By then, Cloud was almost a nervous wreck. Sephiroth had to keep a close eye on the fox to make sure that he wouldn't run off again, but despite his suspicions, his strange companion didn't try to backtrack anywhere. Not once did Cloud answer any of Sephiroth's questions or attempts at conversation, and not once did Cloud change to his human skin. Sephiroth didn't question it; it was the fox's personal problem, not his.

Traversing the mountains was less of a problem than Sephiroth thought it would be. He was unfamiliar with the way to Nibelheim, having only crossed once by foot to get to Rocket Town, but Cloud seemed to know it like the back of his hand. However, the fox was stubborn and Sephiroth had to really pull teeth to get anything out of him.

Finally, the duo stepped into the town's outskirts. As usual, Cloud hung back, more so now that they were here. Sephiroth first walked towards the inn, but was stopped by a hand gripping his arm.

"Don't waste anything on me," Cloud said, having changed forms without Sephiroth's knowing. "I know where to find clothes."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. He stepped to the side and held out an arm, gesturing for Cloud to lead the way.

The Median took a deep breath, rummaged into the pack he was made to carry until he found the blanket and wrapped it around himself, and guided Sephiroth into town.

The early hours of the morning were silent, with nothing but the noisy clamor of birds breaking the quiet. The silence seemed to set Cloud on edge even more, and Sephiroth noticed the tension at its peak when the fox knocked on the door of a house.

Sephiroth didn't even have time to comprehend what had happened when Cloud was suddenly yanked inside and the door was slammed shut. Muffled cries of "Cloud! Oh, where have you been?!" and an embarrassed "Mother..." leaked from the walls to Sephiroth's ears.

"I brought somebody with me!" Cloud had to yell while opening the door again for Sephiroth. He motioned the silver-haired man to come inside.

A blond blur ran right into him, nearly making Sephiroth topple over.

"Thank you," a female fox Median with the exact same kind of ears Cloud had said gratefully. "I can't thank you enough," she sniffed. Her arms wrapped more tightly around Sephiroth's waist.

"You're suffocating him, mother," Cloud said. His face and ears betrayed his embarrassment.

"Ohh, we've got to tell Tifa!" Cloud's mother cried. She quickly let go of Sephiroth and dashed out the door.

"Oh no," Cloud said with dread, folding his ears back. "We've got to go."

"Care to tell me why?" Sephiroth questioned, expecting an actual answer. When none came, he said, "It would have been very helpful long ago if you had told me that you live here."

Cloud's grip on the blanket draped over him tightened. "I can survive without clothes. We have to get out of here as soon as possible." He speed-walked past Sephiroth, stopping in his tracks when the door opened.

Another female, this one with long, dark hair, came in, nearly squeezing Cloud to death with a hug.

"Cloud, we thought you were dead!" she exclaimed, tearing up. "Where have you been?"

Cloud didn't answer, but he tensely returned the hug, his tail brushing up against his legs as if wanting to go in between them. Sephiroth stayed out of the way, quietly watching the exchange.

"Tifa, I..." Cloud trailed off, obviously at a loss on what to say. Tifa didn't seem to care, gray ears and tail with black tips moving all over the place as if she didn't know how to react just then.

"Oh, Cloud brought a guest!" the blond fox's mother said suddenly as if she had forgotten that Sephiroth was there. The silver-haired man reined in the urge to roll his eyes.

"I did, yeah," Cloud said quickly, hastily pulling himself away from Tifa. "Mother, Tifa, this is Sephiroth. Sephiroth, this is my mother and Tifa."

"I see," Sephiroth said, struggling to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. "It's a pleasure to meet the two of you."

"So while you guys get acquainted, I'll uh—go get cleaned up." Awkwardly, Cloud shuffled away, the blanket still covering him.

Cloud's mother beamed at him. "I can't thank you enough for bringing Cloud back to us. He's been gone for so long... I never even wanted to think of the possibilities."

"When did he first leave?" Sephiroth inquired, curious.

"Seven months ago," Tifa said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"I have never seen you before in my life until now," Sephiroth said honestly.

"Hmm," was all the dark grey fox had to reply to that. "How did you get to know Cloud?"

"I was camping in the woods of Rocket Town and I happened to run into him," Sephiroth said. He figured it would be best to leave out most of the details of his and Cloud's first meeting. "He wasn't in the best of shape due to the Famine there, and he agreed to accompany me. However, he seemed very nervous about coming here and he never told me why."

"He didn't?" Cloud's mother tilted her head, ears pricked up. "I can't imagine why... How bad was the Famine on him?" she asked worriedly.

"Nothing but skin and bones," Sephiroth said sincerely, not exaggerating much.

Cloud's mother gasped. "My poor boy... He's lucky that you were there before it was too late."

Sephiroth shook his head. He didn't want to take the compliment.

At that moment, Cloud returned, spiked hair drooping slightly from his bath or shower. A sleeveless turtleneck vest zipped up all the way to just below his neck covered his chest; baggy pants with multiple pockets hung snugly on his hips. His tail shone a brighter blond and hung limply.

"Thank you for lending this to me," Cloud said, inclining his head and returning Sephiroth's blanket which was neatly folded.

Sephiroth took back his possession, shaking his head. "It was no problem."

Cloud's mother scrambled out of her seat and fussed over Cloud, saying something about him being too skinny. A very light shade of pink, so faint one had to really squint to see it, formed on Cloud's cheeks and he continued to mutter about how he was fine.

"Are you hungry?" Cloud's mother asked Sephiroth. "Do you want something to eat? Do you want to rest first?"

Sephiroth shook his head. "It's fine. I'll book a room at the inn."

"No, you can stay," Cloud said quickly. "I have space in my room." He left again without letting anybody say anything on the matter. Sephiroth had a feeling that it was more to have an excuse to get away from the females than it was out of kindness and generosity.

Tifa seemed to agree. Sephiroth could sense some frustration at Cloud emanating from her. He studied the vixen, eyes quickly running from her turned face and stopping at her breasts for a second. Overly large, probably made that way with magic or some other artificial means. Not to Sephiroth's taste; there _was_ such a thing as too big for him. At least she had the decency to cover them up with her shirt. He continued to size her up, casually averting his eyes when she looked at him with ears forward. Sephiroth didn't know much on how foxes communicated, but he assumed that it was a challenge. He met her gaze and stared at her until she looked away. He inwardly smirked. That was a point for him.

Less time passed by before Cloud returned again, this time ushering Sephiroth to his room.

"You can take the bed," Cloud said. He scratched the back of his head and sighed. "Make yourself comfortable and stay at least for one night. It's the least I can do for your help."

"I suppose I can accept your offer." Sephiroth put his food pack and sheathed sword down, noticing that the pack Cloud had carried was already in the room. "Care to explain what is going on? I would like to know."

Cloud hesitated. "...I'll explain later."

"I will hold you to that."

* * *

Cloud tossed and turned under the covers of his bed, unused to the feeling of comfort after living in the wilderness for so long. His mother seemed to like Sephiroth. Tifa, however, seemed uninterested; she kept her brown eyes on Cloud, burning with questions.

Questions that Cloud did not want to answer.

Sephiroth didn't move in his spot on the floor. Cloud was still scolding himself for losing the argument with the man over who slept where. But if the maniac would rather sleep on the floor than on a bed especially after only being able to rest on a very thin sheet of tent material that provided no comfort, then that was his deal.

"Your mother seems nice."

"Thank you," Cloud said, not really meaning to sound genuinely thankful.

"That other one – Tifa – seems to be attached to you."

"Oh...her..." Cloud curled up on himself at the mention of her name.

"What is her relationship with you, if I may ask?"

After an eternity of silence, Cloud gave in. "She was supposed to be my mate," he whispered.

"'Was supposed to'?" Sephiroth quoted incredulously.

Cloud nodded, uncaring if Sephiroth could see the movement or not. "She wanted to be my mate, and I couldn't say no to her, but..." He took a shaky breath. "I can't do it. I just can't."

Sephiroth snorted.

"Hey," Cloud said, flicking his tail in annoyance. "We had mated a couple of times, so don't even get that idea."

"I didn't say anything. But go on."

"I couldn't tell her that I didn't love her that way. So I left. Didn't tell anybody in advance, didn't leave a note – nothing."

"That is one of the most cowardly things I have ever heard in all my days."

"I couldn't stay and keep lying to her, and I didn't have the guts to tell her. Yes, I'll admit it," Cloud said with a sigh.

"So in a way, I made you face your problems again. Will you solve them on your own?"

"I don't know," Cloud said truthfully. He was leaning towards no; he had avoided Tifa all day by making excuses about Sephiroth. She seemed to dislike the silver-haired man a bit afterwards.

"Hm. Well, that will all be up to you." Cloud heard the bedding he had laid down on the floor rustle with Sephiroth's shifting. "I'm leaving in the morning before anybody wakes up."

Something about that gave Cloud a small pang. He shoved it out of his mind and curled up some more to go to sleep.

* * *

Once his preparations were finished, Sephiroth made his way out of Cloud's room, unlocking the front door of the house and locking it behind him when he was out, not making any sound whatsoever. He crunched through the snow, making it several feet past the town limits before a voice called him.

"Sephiroth!" it yelled again. The silver-haired man turned to see Cloud in his human form running towards him, pack bouncing against his side. Cloud didn't slow down until he was near Sephiroth. Panting, he said, "I'm coming with you."

"Running away again?" Sephiroth taunted.

"Shut up!" Cloud said normally, having regained his wind. "It would make me feel much worse knowing that you're out here on your own, unable to fend for yourself, than it would leaving Tifa and my mother again."

"Watch your tongue, fox," Sephiroth said sternly. "I might just cut it off."

Cloud snorted. "I left a note this time, if that will make you feel any better."

"Whether you stay or try to follow me is your choice. I will not suffer the consequences for your actions," Sephiroth warned.

"Fine. I'm still going," the Median said, marching off into a random direction.

"I'm going to the east."

"Well so am I, and that's that."

* * *

Notes:

Started: 2013年10月18日（金）

Finished: 2013年10月19日（土）

Cloud is wearing his Advent Children outfit, except without the leather shoulder guards, apron thing, cloth on his arm, or the Fenrir emblem.

I will admit that I'm a Tifa hater, but I hope that that only came out as a stupid boob joke and not bashing.

Welp, see you next chapter! Hopefully the wait won't be as long next time around...


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